Weddings Have a Life of Their Own

I haven't been posting a blog lately due to wedding activities.  All wonderful and fun but no time to blog.  My daughter Lucyna and I hosted a wedding shower for my son Tad and his fiance Carrie last weekend in Chicago.  It was a good meeting point between my family in downstate Illinois, Carrie's family in Door County and my friends and Case's family in the Chicago area.  We treated them all to deep dish Chicago-style pizza at Lou Malnati's.  It was a lovely afternoon for the families to meet before the wedding weekend in September. 

Northwoods As It Should Be

Right after breakfast I went for a leisurely kayak paddle.  Bright sun and a cool breeze as the Northwoods should be on a July morning.  No sight of the Loons I am disappointed to say.  There was a baby painted turtle on a log sticking out of the water; a Great Blue Heron who took flight at my approach; an osprey being heckled by smaller birds (I am sure the bigger osprey was doing something they didn't like.); didn't see the beavers but their play area at the end of a creek was well used; a large group of gulls were sunning and preening on an outcropping of rocks in our bay; the resident pair of eagles that live two doors down were circling and enjoying the updrafts.  A lovely morning upon the water.

H-E-double hockey sticks

Today it is hot with a heat index of 110 degrees.  I moved to the Northwoods to get away from this type of stuff.  What the h-e-double hockey sticks is going on?  The majority of people here do not have air conditioning.  It really doesn't have to do with economic status.  The richest couple we know here do not have it.  In the past AC wasn't needed.  Maybe a few days a year.  When we remodeled our place, the contractor asked if we wanted AC.  "You'll only need it 2 weeks of the year."  We said yes, we will use it the 2 weeks.  You can attribute the heat to global warming or to natural weather cycles.  Either way, we are using our air conditioning. 

I Won!

There was a silent auction at the annual Spider Lake Township Volunteer Firefighter BBQ.  I bid on several items.  Got the call from the Town Treasurer that I had won.  Which one did I win?  The Packer afghan, of course.  Some talented woman had knitted a lap throw in the Packer colors. Couldn't resist bidding.  I can just see me snuggling up under it on a Sunday afternoon during football season.  During the picnic itself, I won a flashlight.  You buy a plastic egg for $1.  It contains a number that corresponds to your prize.  We also won gummy bears, pudding, granola bars and smarties until we got the flashlight.  We didn't pull the correct eggs for the great prizes.  Next year!   By the way, the BBQ chicken was delicious! 

Wildlife Update

Loons:  While kayaking this morning, I saw the mom and dad but no juveniles.  I saw all of them 5 days ago.  I will poll the loon watchers in the area to find out the situation.  Saturday is turn around day at all the resorts.  People move out who have been here a week and the new ones move in.  The resort staff certainly earn their money on a Saturday.  As I was gliding by, one workers says to another, "That's what I'd rather be doing - kayaking."  We were 200 feet apart.  Sounds and voices travel on water.  So I say back, "Why don't you join me?"  "You got room for 2 of us?"  "You bet!"  I knew one of the guys.  I'll have to rib him the next time at church.  He probably didn't know that it was me.  Although I think I am the only one on the lake with a pink kayak.
Foxie:  She is so tame.  She acts as though she owns the place.  She lays in the yard or our drive to clean her fur like any other animal does.  When the other neighbor drives by, she just watches and doesn't move.  When Case and I were cleaning up logs and brush from downed trees last week after a storm, she came upon us.  We were in her path that she wanted to take so she went behind some low shrubs to watch us for a bit.  I could still see her though.  How could I miss those big ears sticking up!  She gave up watching and took another route.  Foxie checks the stump daily at 4:45 pm.  Seems like she has an inner clock because it is the same time everyday.  If we have scraps, they better be out there by then. 

Four Letter Words

C-A-K-E    B-A-L-L    These are now my new swear words.  Our future daughter-in-law served us cake balls for dessert the last time we were at her house.  Absolutely delicious!  They sounded so easy to make.  Case and I decided that we would make cake balls, too.  Well, we are on day 3 of the process with a few more days ahead.  Three ingredients - only three: cake, icing, chocolate.  What could go wrong?  I guess nothing has really gone wrong.  It is just so labor intensive!

Day 1:  Bake cake.  Let cool.
Day 2:  Crumble the cake so there are no lumps - just crumbs.  It takes forever!  Add 3/4 of a can of ready made frosting to crumbles.  Mix until a paste like consistency.  Refrigerate.
Day 3:  Use a melon baller plus your hands to scoop paste and roll into a ball.  It takes forever!  Put on wax paper and refrigerate.  We finished that after supper today.
I can't even imagine how wild Day 4 is going to be.
Day 4:  Melt chocolate.  Dip and coat balls.  Put on other wax paper to harden.  I can just see the mess.  I can just feel the heartache if the balls fall apart while dipping. 

We have gone this far.  We must continue.  These better be the best #&*# cake balls ever!